Interleukin-10 High Producer Allele and Ultrasound-Defined Periventricular White Matter Abnormalities in Preterm Infants: A Preliminary Study

Abstract OBJECTIVES: Inflammation plays a role in prematurity, in neonatal disorders of the brain, lung, eye, bowel, and in developmental disability among preterm infants. We initiated a pilot study in preterm children to determine the prevalence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the infection/inflammation-associated genes for interleukin (IL)-10 (- 1082 G/A), IL-1β (+ 3953 C/T), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (- 308 G/A) and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4) (Asp299Gly) and whether these SNPs affect the risk for neonatal disorders. STUDY DESIGN: We genotyped 73 children ≥ 2 years of age whose gestational age at birth was < 32 weeks, and explored the associations between genotypes and neonatal disorders and developmental status at age 2 + years. RESULTS: Infants homozygous for the high IL-10 producer - 1082 G‐allele (n = 15) were significantly less likely to develop ultrasound-defined periventricular echodensities. A non-significant, but prominent, risk reduction for bronchopulmonary dysplasia, high-grade retinopathy, cerebral palsy, and developmental delay at age 2 + years was present. Polymorphisms in the IL-1β, TNF-α, and TLR-4 genes were too infrequent in our pilot sample to allow for reasonable analysis. CONCLUSION: Infants homozygous for the IL-10 high producer - 1082 G allele might be at reduced risk for prematurity-associated disorders.